HotelsNew York, USA
Community score pending
The fat travel community hasn’t weighed in yet. When they do, it gets its score.
The Mark sells you the Upper East Side at its most old-school: a 1927 building a block from Central Park, doormen who learn your name by the second morning, and a Jean-Georges kitchen sending up breakfast in bed. Guests who get the good version of this hotel describe a front desk that remembers a returning daughter, turn-down service with sweets left out, and a concierge team that solves problems most hotels won’t even attempt. That’s the case for booking it, and it’s real.
It’s also not the only version on offer. Multiple 2025-2026 stays describe rooms with dust, stains, and mold in the corners, at rates around $1,500 a night before tax. One guest’s dressing-stained coat took ten days, four calls, and thirteen different staff members to come back, and arrived at the wrong address. Another had a scarf go missing and got hung up on twice when asking about it. The building is inconsistent room to room and interaction to interaction in a way that a hotel at this price shouldn’t be, and the outdoor dining setup in particular gets knocked for slow, inattentive service on a patio with flimsy chairs.
Book it for the location and the classic New York feeling, not for guaranteed flawless execution. If you land a good room and a good day, it’s genuinely special, and long-stay guests keep coming back for exactly that reason. If your priority is total reliability over character, that’s a fair thing to price in before you commit. Either way, ask for a renovated room category at check-in and don’t assume a lost item will be found quickly.
Drags the score
Both personally and with clients, my experience with The Mark has been mixed as part of an uptown scene where service can be hit or miss.
Sep 2025
I don’t have the confidence in this stretch of the Upper East Side that I do elsewhere in the city, and The Mark is part of that. It’s not a place I book without caveats for clients right now.
Red flag
There are other luxury hotels a block away, and after this stay it’s hard to imagine they’d be worse.
Xinting Bi Dec 2025
I haven’t personally stayed at those alternatives, so I can’t recommend them directly, but this experience set a low bar. Between the dirty room, the lost gifts, and the underwhelming fix, spending more money here meant more frustration, not more comfort.
Red flag
After ten years and many stays, I’m finally advising clients to look elsewhere.
akX49OY Jul 2026
The carpets need a deep clean and honestly the whole place needs a refresh. Housekeeping took two hours to bring a blanket and never did find me sleepers in my size. Even the kitchenette fridge was loud enough to keep me up. For what they charge, this isn’t holding up anymore.
Strong endorsement
When a suitcase went missing after shipping, two staff members took it on as their own problem until it was solved.
Yasmeen Al-Khalifa Jul 2026
Maria and Timoleon personally chased FedEx and the New Jersey facility for me instead of just pointing me toward a phone number. They kept me updated the whole time and didn’t stop until the bag was found. It turned what should have been a nightmare into the kind of moment that makes you trust a hotel again. The property itself is beautiful too, but it was the people who made this stay.
Red flag
The front bar bartender was the rudest service I’ve experienced at a hotel of this caliber, which was jarring against how good everyone else was.
Atoosa Campbell Jul 2026
We’re locals who go out often, so we know the difference between being managed and being welcomed, and this was the former. What stood out is that it wasn’t the whole team: the hostesses were warm and gracious, and the hot dog cart staff outside were delightful. One person at the bar just had a condescending attitude that undid a lot of that goodwill.
Red flag
This used to be the standout hotel on the Upper East Side, and after twenty-plus stays I can say it’s fallen off badly.
Bruton23 May 2026
We were put in what might be the worst suite in the building, right over the entrance on the first floor, with no double glazing and weak air conditioning. Five nights with barely any sleep. We asked to move and got ignored, then wrote to the manager and got ignored again. All at a serious price. It now feels overpriced and like it only cares about celebrity guests.
Red flag
This isn’t worth the money, and the lobby doesn’t even give you a reason to want to linger in it.
Vivian Darkbloom Nov 2025
The lobby is unappealing, and the hot dog stand outside means the entrance and bar smell like hot dogs. The dining room is dark and a bit dingy: I paid twelve dollars for a ginger ale while someone next to me ate takeout pizza from a box. They advertise the John Lobb shoe cleaning service, but when I brought suede shoes the person said he couldn’t clean them. Proximity to the park is really the only strong point.
“the guy said he could not clean my suede shoes” in their words
Mixed read
After seeing all the Met Gala photos I expected more, and for an average guest it just wasn’t that special.
rhubarb07666 Jul 2025
I emailed ahead for small things, a newspaper, a specific pillow, bottled water, and none of it happened even after I followed up three times at check-in. My courtyard junior suite had two full bathrooms, which was great since we had someone sleeping on the pull-out couch, but getting that couch set up each night felt like more effort than a luxury hotel should require. The front desk staff were lovely and understanding about all of it, and breakfast was genuinely excellent even if pricey. We had dinner there one night too and the service was fantastic.
“i had emailed in advance, the most minor of requests” in their words
Red flag
A waiter accidentally spilled dressing on my coat, and getting it back took ten days, four calls, and thirteen different staff members.
Robin Sabat Jun 2025
They took the coat for cleaning and said I’d have it the next day, then nothing for five days. When I called, they offered a paid courier, I said just FedEx it and send tracking, and it still didn’t happen on the promised day. I spoke to someone named Joshua who kept assuring me it was being handled right now, and it still went to the wrong address once it finally shipped. The food that night was good and the space felt a little precious, but the coat saga overshadowed everything.
“he was handling it “right now”” in their words
Strong endorsement
My plans changed and I showed up before check-in, and they got me into my room without any fuss.
Nicole Johnson Jun 2025
It’s an old-school kind of hotel near Central Park, the Met, and Madison Avenue, and if that’s your style you’ll like it here. Mia and another staffer at the front desk on a Saturday morning were fantastic, and when I checked out early the next day Mia greeted me by name as I walked up, which felt genuinely classy. The bathroom had both a shower and a tub, and my room looked out over Madison Avenue. A nice, well-handled stay overall.
Strong endorsement
The hotel manages to feel classy and cool at the same time, and my room was spacious with a genuinely generous closet.
Excursion92418 Jun 2025
Service overall was excellent, staff were friendly without being overbearing, and the whole place felt like an elegant Upper East Side home. I had Jean-Georges breakfast in bed, Caviar Kaspia for lunch, and caught a fun shellfish pop-up with a glass of rosé outside. I’ll absolutely be booking this again as soon as I can.
Red flag
The Lowell was full so I booked here expecting something comparable, and it wasn’t close.
shan9000 May 2025
The service felt robotic, the decor was not to my taste, and there was zero attention to detail. It felt staged for social media, especially the new crab shack setup outside, rather than genuine hospitality. The amenities were a letdown too, just a drawer of free Hershey bars and Oreos.
Strong endorsement
We stayed for several weeks and wouldn’t consider anywhere else in New York.
GoPlaces742265 Apr 2025
It’s the human touches that make this place, not just the name, from the front desk smiles to a concierge who connects you to whatever you need in the city. The bellmen are pleasant, everyone seems genuinely helpful, and it’s stylish without losing that warmth. It goes beyond just another luxury hotel for us.
Strong endorsement
The concierge team planned itineraries with real heart, and it made our New York trip feel magical in a way we couldn’t have managed alone.
981shelbyk Apr 2025
Tim the bellman was beyond professional, Avi found us seats at the restaurant no matter how busy it got, and Vlad running the bar made my morning coffee a small daily pleasure. Even the person at the hot dog cart brought genuine warmth to the block. The whole team supports guests beautifully here.
The Mark Hotel occupies a landmark 1927 building on Madison Avenue at 77th Street on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, a few blocks from Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The property was renovated in 2009 and has 106 rooms and suites, including courtyard suites and multi-bedroom layouts, decorated with a mix of classic Upper East Side detailing and contemporary touches. The hotel is independently operated and has long been associated with fashion and media crowds, including annual Met Gala guests.
On property, Jean-Georges Vongerichten operates the hotel’s restaurant and room service, alongside a bar known for its cocktail crowd and an outdoor seating area. A Frederic Fekkai hair salon, a John Lobb shoe-shine service, and a sidewalk hot dog cart round out the amenities, along with loaner bicycles and, seasonally, sleds. The hotel offers a car service to nearby Bergdorf Goodman, and its location puts Central Park, museum row, and Madison Avenue shopping within walking distance.
It depends on the room and the day. Guests who land a well-kept room and attentive staff describe some of the best old-school service in New York, but a meaningful number of recent stays describe tired rooms and slow problem-solving for the price, so it pays to book a renovated category and set expectations accordingly.
Outside of Met Gala season, when the hotel’s proximity to the event draws crowds and, according to some longtime guests, extra attention to a certain kind of visitor. Late spring and fall put Central Park at its best for the walk-everywhere location the hotel is built around.
It sits in the same Upper East Side bracket as The Lowell and similar boutique properties, and one guest who ended up here after The Lowell was full described the experience as noticeably less polished. The Mark’s edge is the address and the restaurant, not uniform consistency.
Repeat visitors who value a classic, personal welcome and don’t mind the occasional rough edge, plus anyone prioritizing walking distance to Central Park and the Met over guaranteed room-by-room polish.
The Mark Hotel holds Two Michelin Keys in the Michelin Guide’s 2026 hotel selection, announced in September 2026. Two Keys is the second of the guide’s three hotel distinctions, given for what it calls an exceptional stay. It has held Two Keys in every selection since 2024. The Keys come from the guide’s own anonymous inspections and are separate from the Fat Score.
Two routes, and both end with the reservation sitting at the hotel in your name. Direct on the hotel’s own site is the fastest — the Reserve button on this page goes straight to it. The other is through a travel advisor with consortia access: you pay the same rate the hotel is charging publicly, the hotel pays the advisor’s commission instead of you, and an amenity package comes attached — breakfast for two daily, even on room-only rates, $100 property credit for food, drink or spa, room upgrade, subject to availability, early check-in and late check-out, subject to availability. We handle that side ourselves for readers who ask.
Through a travel advisor with consortia access, for almost everyone. You pay the hotel’s own public rate and an amenity package comes on top that direct booking doesn’t include — typically breakfast for two daily, even on room-only rates, $100 property credit for food, drink or spa, room upgrade, subject to availability, early check-in and late check-out, subject to availability. It costs nothing extra, because the hotel pays the commission rather than you. The one real exception is brand loyalty: advisor rates don’t always earn nights toward status, so if you’re chasing a tier or points, book direct. Short of that, there’s no version of booking direct that leaves you better off. We’re advisors ourselves, so you can just ask us.
Never guaranteed — it depends on what’s still unsold the day you arrive, and anyone promising one is guessing. Two things move the odds. The reliable one is booking through a consortia programme, where a room upgrade is written into the amenity package subject to availability; it costs nothing extra and it is the closest thing to a lever that exists. The other is telling the hotel in advance that you’re celebrating something, which works more often than people expect. The first part is already handled if you book it with us.
Fat Approved, 15 out of 20. New York, USA · Same city Aman New York Compare 
Fat Favorite, 16 out of 20. New York, USA · Same city Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown Compare 
Fat Favorite, 17 out of 20. New York, USA · Same city The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel Compare 
Fat Approved, 15 out of 20. London, United Kingdom · Similar score Rosewood London Compare The occasional note
When something worth knowing happens in fat travel — a verdict that shifted, an opening worth waiting for, a hotel that earned its place — we write.
